I took a long walk yesterday down 5th Ave and watched doormen at their jobs- carrying bags, lifting strollers down stairs, and hailing cabs. Thank goodness for those lively men because everyone else was pretty dull. In the building right across from the Met there is a large window lined with stuffed animals. Why should I be surprised that an actual person, an actual child, wakes up in the morning and looks out her window and sees the Met? The night before I visited a writer in a run-down building, a really miserable building, where she lived with her family and the place they created was so sweet and she was so tender with her boys, that poverty didn’t exist there. I need that reminder sometimes: work hard every day and own your life.
. . . . .
Today I took a long drive instead and made it home. Sometimes I put the window down a little and take a picture with one hand as I fly down the road. It is a much lonelier landscape. I won’t state the obvious because you have eyes to see.
Happy New Year!
dutchhillfarm 
so quiet and yet dramatic…
I think so too.
I lived in New York City for almost ten years, and believe me, it can feel pretty lonely sometimes, too. The New York Times wrote about people who go to big bookstores just to be surrounded by people, but no one talks to anyone else. Headline: “All Alone Together.”
And nothing is bleaker or grayer than lousy city housing in winter, surrounded by noise and yelling and people slamming doors.
I did enjoy the city–hey, I stayed almost ten years–but I didn’t realize how much beauty and peace and quiet I was missing until I left. And today, as the cliche goes, it’s a nice place to visit. I’d like to get to know Boston sometime–the history is more accessible and it seems more picturesque.
OK, what do the Chinese characters mean, please?
The Chinese characters just said Happy New Year.
NYC feels so crowded to me now. I’m not used to looking out and seeing people in every direction. As a visitor, it is pretty exciting. Lots of good people watching and I did notice most people stare at a random spot on the floor in front of them instead of at each other. You would think that people sitting next to each other on the subway would want to start up a conversation with the person next to them, just out of curiosity.
And can you tell by my interest in doormen that I’ve been watching a bit obsessively Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, etc…?